I was chatting with a friend last night about the necessity of putting away the phone for a spell. She and I had both done so in some form this past week and we remarked on what a relief it was to our brains to simply be present and to be quiet.

In Luke 6:12, Jesus went out alone to pray to His Father. He prayed all night. Now, I’m assuming that most of us do not have the fortitude to pray all night, but I think we can find ways to be mentally still and reflective for an extended length of time- either for a day or throughout a week.

Prior to phones and the Internet quiet was woven into our day. Radios would have to be intentionally turned on; phone calls could wait; people had to stop by; errands could be run in silence. Think back even further to the farm days or the pioneer days- silence unless you were working with family or listening to the sounds of nature around you: the wind across the prairie, birds chatting, bugs buzzing… imagine the communication with God that could happen then!

Now we are bombarded with the demands of instant communication; reams of information is hurled at us from social media, the Internet, podcasts and YouTube; conversations can happen around the clock no matter where we are and we feel obligated to read, respond and repeat to all of it right away. It becomes a burden.

As summer vibes trickle into the atmosphere, I’m going to remember the old days, the pioneer days and Jesus’s mountainside retreat and seek quiet whenever I can. My children need me present; my husband and I need time for conversation; and my spirit needs to hear Jesus.